The Role of Creativity in the Classroom
Creativity is thought to be a foundation skill in effective leaders. Creative leaders are able to solve problems that have plagued an organization and successfully navigate the unexpected --“someone who can see old problems in new ways and new problems with fresh perspectives.†Creativity is derived from the socio-cultural environment, personality, and motivational variables. A creative instructor is one is does not focus on barriers, but can smooth the journey across stumbling blocks. Teaching creativity fosters engagement in the learning process. Students who are actively learning and are satisfied with the quality of contact in the classroom are more likely to remain.
Focusing on creativity in student assignments has been found to elicit a higher level of concept application with regard to making connections between diverse information and new contexts.
Albert,
You are so right - sharing ideas with colleagues is an excellent way to improve your course and teaching. I'm hoping these forums will do the same. Thanks!
I am in my cycle to evaluate my leaning modules in my LMS. In the last year I am openly with colleagues to discuss what they do and how students respond to their learning activities. Sharing ideas will encourage developing creative learning activities and even suggest more appropriate responses to students who are having difficulty with the course material. We have as a group concluded that the course material is not difficult but some students have poor reading comprehension.
Lyn,
Games and simulations can be used very effectively in the classroom. What is your subject area? With that information maybe others posting in this forum can help you with suggestions. Thanks!
I have found the aspect of using games to mimic or symbolize real life situations to be invaluable in my own personal and professional development. Games have allowed me to find the 'fun' in learning and have truly enhanced my educational experiences.
When it comes to students as well as ourselves as teachers, I believe it is sometimes too easy to get lost in the details (and seriousness) of the course information. Do you have a suggestion of a game or two or sources I might use to find games that are recommended in the instruction of computer software programs?
Rene,
Good advice. I like to give students options on how to deliver their presentations. Thanks for your input.
Creativity can be learned, since many of us place self or other limitations on creativity. This can be done in a number of different ways. Visual presentations can be done with use of special effects. Audio presentations may be in order for specific circumstances. The use of humor may be effectively used in creative ways. Games that mimic real-life or symbolize these occurrences. It is a matter of exploring, and either coming up with, or borrowing effective creativity, and seeing which one works best with your particular group.
Julie,
Allowing for creativity in products students create for project is a great way to allow students to "show off" what they can do. Nice job.
Thanks.
Jennifer,
Yes, we have to be creative and also ask students to be creative as well. Many students are creative but they do not have the opportunity to show how creative they may be. Thanks for you input.
Yes having a diverse group of students does call for some "creativity" from the instructor. Diverse media options helps: some will prefer and learn more from reading, others visual videos, others graphics, etc. Sometimes you have to reassess each class of students individually.
I think creativity in the classroom is a must with the diverse population of student body I have. I have students that pick things up quickly and want to move on and others that do not absorb the information as well and need a more extensive review. Being creative is how I keep all of them happy and learning without anyone being bored or feeling left behind.
Al,
We all have our creativity limits - some more creative than others, but it definitely affects the classroom. Creativity can lead to student engagement and better facilitation. Thanks for bringing that up!
I find that creativity is essential to the success of an instructor. Teaching in my estimation is an entrepreneurial endeavor. Students have various ways in which they learn. If an instructor is stuck in one way they may not be a help and more of a hindrance to student learning. Creativity gives the instructor ways to deal with specific challenges which arise with students. There is not always a textbook definition answer that can be given to assist a student.
The creative instructor finds way to facilitate learning so that his/her students can get the best out of a particular class. Not all students learn the same way nor do the tools supplied all work. Finding particular ways to enhance a student experience is ultimately the job of the instructor.
Dawn and Kimberly,
Thanks for the continued conversation. I like the "food for thought." Anything you can do to help students get engaged in the conversation/content, is useful. Thanks for your input.
Hi Kimberly -
I also use the students DB posts to generate creativity in the discussion held, by generating what I call a "food for thought" response. This response allows all students a chance to take what they are learning and place it into real-world situations that they have encountered. It not only opens the discussion, but in many times they start offering solutions, and/or research that they have found based on the situations mentioned.
This is just one way that I have generated creativity around the subject learned each week in the discussions.
Thank you,
Dawn
Virginia,
Cool. We all need to have goals for ourselves and try our best to keep up to date with the technology.
Thanks.
Interestingly, my goals for this year center around honing my technological skills to make the course more appealing. I find this to be a creative process and I am already enjoying some success.
Christopher and Kimberly,
You are right on in your comments. Providing content to student's in a fashion they can relate to is essential. Creativity and peer feedback can work in sync with each other as students continue to learn. Thanks.
Kimberly,
You are so right. We have to be creative in how we offer the content to students and interact with students. Thanks for giving us your examples.
Kimberly,
I also believe that creativity is an important element in the classroom. From the perspective of the teacher, you need to make information relatable to the student. You can do this by drawing parallels between content and current events. From the perspective of the student, creativity is equally important as they need to show personal understanding of the material through creative and novel application. Student creativity can also be expressed in their peer feedback.
